SOUTH KOREA: COURT ACQUITS MAN EXECUTED 50 YEARS AGO IN NAT'L SECURITY LAW CASE

January 19, 2026:

A Seoul court on January 19, 2026 posthumously acquitted a man executed 50 years ago for allegedly attempting to rebuild an underground pro-North Korea organization in a retrial of the case.
The Seoul Eastern District Court found the late Kang Eul-seong not guilty on charges of violating the National Security Act, citing insufficient evidence.
Kang, a civilian military worker, was executed in 1976 after his arrest and torture by military counterintelligence authorities for allegedly attempting to reconstruct the Unification Revolutionary Party on alleged orders from North Korea in 1974.
The underground organization had been uncovered by South Korea's spy agency under then President Park Chung-hee's administration in 1968 and dismantled.
The court said it could not conclude that Kang praised or sympathized with anti-state activities for reading a paper published in North Korea.
"(Our) hearts feel heavy. Although a past wrong has been corrected, irreversible damage has already been done and the fact that it is too late leaves a sense of helplessness," the court said. "We made the verdict in this case with a sense of contrition as the judiciary did not fulfill the expectations of the people."
"As a member of the judiciary that made an error, I once again bow my head to apologize to the bereaved family members."
Prosecutors had sought Kang's acquittal in the retrial, saying that procedural truth had not been kept in the original trial. They will not seek an appeal.
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office apologized to the defendant and his bereaved family, vowing to remain faithful to its core duties.
It marked the latest case surrounding the underground organization, in which the defendant was acquitted.
Four other people accused of attempting to rebuild the pro-North Korea group have been acquitted posthumously in retrials.